The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-07-30
THE CLOSING ARGUMENT.

THE CLOSING ARGUMENT.
MIR. CIaypooPs Vigorous Appeal to the Jury
for a Verdict of Guilty.
When the doors of the federal courtroom
were thrown open yesterday morning at less than
five minutes before o'clock, there was a rush
ing throng that Immediately filed every
available foot of space. A number of
gentlemen got in tho broad windows
This shut off all ingress of air, and they were
ordered to come down that the audience might
not be suffocated. Expectation was wrought up
to the highest pitch to what Mr.. Claypool
would say in reply to the arguments of the
several attorneys for the defense. whose
speeches had occupied two long days. Again, the
audience was largely composed OF lawyers,
more than fifty being counted among the eager
throng The jury looked weary but apparently
saw glean of hope. TIE last speech was
about to be made and the case was nearing the
end Mr.. Claypool arose, and beginning in a
measured, unimpassioned manne addressed the
jury as follows:
'I know it is easy for attorneys to declam
loud and long abo ut small matters and thus pro-
tract their speeches. | have lived to to
discover the fact that this kind of thing with an
intelligent jury has weight In what shall
say / shall treat you men of sense men of
good Judgment who have sense enough 10 un-
derstand the oath you have taken. The oath
you have taken is not like the oath you take in
the State court, to try the case according to the
law aud the evidence. The law is entirely with
the court. and therefore l shall discuss no legal
question, but hall simply state here and there
perhaps the law as may suppose the court will
give it to you, and wnen the court comes to in
struct you. you will see whether l am right or
wrong You have been told appear before you
the hired attorney of the committee of one
hundred. do not know what that has to no
with this case, but the gentlemen on the other
side have spoken of me in terms compli-
meptary and shown 50 much love for me that
am hound to presume that this remark is in
tended a compliment. / accept it a com
pilmeut, aud l thank you, gentlemen, for IL
While they had disposition to compliment ms,
they might have intensified tae compliment by
having read to the jury the names of the com
mittee of one hundred. SO you might have seen
and known their character and standing az citi-
zens of this community, SO rou might have
known their political opinions. go you could have
stated whether or not IL is true this prosecution
was instituted and brought about by gang of
bad men and conspirators to tear down good
men.
s'Who are the counsel for the defense-not a
single resident attorney, except MIR. Bynnm,
who appears for his partner. Mr.. Spaan, who
appears for himself, and Mr. Matter, who ap-
pears for his brother. The others, and the lead
ing counsel, are my friends. Mr.. Brown and Mr..
McNutt. They do not belong here in the city of
Indianapolis. Why is itl Gentlemen of the
jury, draw your own inferences. Is it that they
stand here representing class of bad men or do
they represent the better elements | am not
mere as Il6 attorney OF tue commiIbe6 OF one
hundred. am here by the selection of the dis
trict attorney. of whom you have heard some
thing. / stand here with him one of the rep
resentatives of the government of the United
States. | stand here for the purpose of putting
to you the question whether or not outrage of
this ch haracter which has been committed upon
the people of Indianapolis shall go unpunished.
In presenting that matter to you do rot intend
to go into the details of the evidence. My dis
tinguished associate has already done that in
way that cannot be equaied and certainly not
cod iGh fhnf foo
the general characteristics of this subject which
you have under investigation. | shall only hold
up before you the general features and ask you
honest men. good men, to look at them and
form your own conclusions. L shall incidentally
allude to and answer the positions of some OF
the gentlemen who have gone before me.
t'Il cannot be expected that can or will, in
the two hours expect to address you, attempt
to answer everything that has been said ty the
five gentlemen who have preceded me during the
course of two days, and one of them it is
not necessary that 1 should. / allude to Mr.
Brown: and when l say that I want no personal
conflict with any He told you he going
to present the testimony fairly aud honestly
Having done that he presents seventeen counts
against Mr. Perkinss evidence, asking you not
to believe him tPerkins). He stood up before
this jury under his oath a lawyer, with pro-
fessions of honesty not to mislead the jury, and
told you he had sworn falsely. He quoted
falsus in uno falsus in omnibus-false in one,
false in all-and made the application to Mr..
Perkins Bnt this is not the only instance
which he nisrepresented the evidence and in
which others misrepresented the evidence
know =, that you are n men, aud in % common a
no man who would not be influenced by his po-
litcal and religious prejudices. 1t is as impossi-
BILE to be entirely free from prejudice it
would be to live and not breathe. We all have
them. We can not divest ourselves of them
without dlvesting ourselves of human
nature. / know this, and the distinguished
counsel on the other side know it, and for that
purpose they have In every possible way gone
outside the record, and attempted drag poll
ties into this case! Jason Brown said TO you
IN the conclusion of his speech, that
this prosecution was put on foot by a CORPS of
consprators, sliuding to the committee of
hundred. and that the purpose and object of
the prosecution was to drag down the Demo
cratic party
That was insult to your honesty and in
tegrity as Jurors know the purpose of it, and
you know 1t was to drag you away from the
evidence in the case and induce YOU when you
go to your jury-r to be influenced by the
sentiments that prompted the expression. 1t
was for the purpose of making you forget your
oath and go TO your Jury-room and be partisans
and decide this case not according to your oath,
but to take q town meeting view of it, and the
view of Sim Coy and his gang There is no poll
tics here / may fairly suppose that many OF
the most of you-are Democrats.
could. perhaps, point out not more than one
pr TWO whose political opinions I know, but l
want to say here IN the outset If
there Is Republican here in this Jury
who would have that fact affect these
defendants because they are Democrats that
as scohndlel and ought not to be
Eere- 1t there Is Democrat here this jury
who would favor Sim Coy the others because
they are Democrats, he is scoundrel and unfit
to be here. If there is any juror here that would
mitigate the ofense of these men by saying that
Sim Coy and the others were only giving the
Republicans their own medicine, they ought not
to be here. It Is not the law of good citizenship
TO give tit for tar and crime Tor crime. do not
say outrages OF this kind have not been COM
mitted before have doubt Republicans
nave done 1t, and Democrats have done IL, and
have the honor to say You that my advent
INTO the practice of law IN this city to assist
n bringing 90 punishment a Republican
Tor outrages upon the ba.lotbox. I heard the